Father's Day

Father's Day was several weeks ago. We were in Kentucky for Tim's sister's funeral. I had to quick make my cards before we left so I could get them in the mail to my Dad and brothers. It certainly wasn't a very happy Father's Day for Tim, but he got a card too.

Sorry the picture is terrible - it was a quick shot so I could get them in the mail. The base is a kraft cardstock that Tim brought home for me, as is the green and blue cardstocks. The Very Vanilla that I stamped the tree on and the Basic Black are both Stampin' Up cardstocks. The tree stamp is stamped in Basic Black ink, from SU's Lovely as a Tree set, and the greeting is from one of the retired All Year Cheer sets. I added a few black rads to give it some texture.

BB: Curried Couscous

Last night's dinner was perfect for summer. I had some salmon patties in the freezer that I pulled out and reheated. And we tried a new recipe - the Barefoot Contessa's Curried Couscous. It's one of this month's recipes for the Barefoot Bloggers and Ellyn of Recipe Collector and Tester picked it. I left out the raisins, substituted white onion for the red and forgot the parsley. Tim and I were both surprised by the mild flavor. We don't use a lot of curry, but I think this recipe has made us not afraid of it. I was very happy with the results and glad we tried it. We have started eating a lot of couscous, and it's perfect for summer because it doesn't heat up the house to make it and can be flavored so many ways.

Books Read in May

Yes, I know, it's the second week in June, but I wanted to share with you what I read last month. By the end of May I had read 45 books. Last year it was early September by the time I'd read 45 books. So I am on a roll this year. My guess is that I'm doing less scrapbooking and card making. You'll see I read a lot of romance and memoirs in May.

I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti by Giulia Melucci. Memoir. Rating 3.5

Desperately Seeking A Duke, The Duke Next Door, and Duke Most Wanted by Celeste Bradley. Romance.

Some Like it Wild by Teresa Medeiros. Romance. Rating 3. Fun story. Follows Some Like it Wicked.

Bridge of Sighs by Richard Russo. Fiction. Rating 4. Great characters. The book was a little long. had a great discussion with my book club.

Red Leather Diary: Reclaiming a Life Through the Pages of a Lost Journal by Lily Koppel. Memoir. Rating 4.

We Are All Fine Here by Mary Guterson. Fiction. Rating 3. It's a small book which reads quickly. And, of course, everything isn't fine.

To Beguile a Beast by Elizabeth Hoyt. Romance. Rating 3.5. Number three in the Legend of the Four Soldiers series after To Taste Temptation, and To Seduce a Sinner. Next will be To Desire a Devil.

The Middle Place by Kelly Corrigan. Memoir. Rating 4.

Black Sheep by Georgette Heyer. Classic Romance. Rating 4. Fresh characters and plot. Still a classic.

Graduation 2009

This weekend we were off in Kentucky for Dylan's high school graduation from Apollo High school in Owensboro. Here is our handsome young graduate.

They did this cool candle light ceremony. Each graduate had a candle and then some blew theirs out to leave the 09.

My cousin Elly also graduated this weekend from Wilmar High School in Minnesota. Unfortunately, we couldn't figure out how to get from Kentucky to Minnesota in one day.

These are the cards I made for Dylan and Elly. I used non SU craft cardstock for the base, Whisper White and Real Red for Elly's card and Brocade Blue for Dylan's card. I used the retired SU Graduation set and Best Friends numbers, stamped in Basic Black. There are silver brads and a silver edged tag for accents.

Mailbox Monday - June 1, 2009

I had several new books show up in my mailbox in the last few weeks. Actually, they usually don't fit in my mailbox so I discover the packages lying on the front porch right by the door. A package is always a welcome sight.

Random House sent me a trade paperback copy of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. I've read this book, enjoyed it and recommended it. I'm so happy to have my own copy.

Lisa from Books on the Brain sent me a copy of Beach Trip by Cathy Holton so I can participate in her June book club. The book has a nice cover and I'm looking forward to reading and discussing it.

Picador sent me a copy of The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides for their Twitter book club this Friday. I'll be in the car all day Friday, so I will try and participate via my phone. Can't wait to see how this works. I really enjoyed Eugenides' Middlesex so I'm really looking forward to reading his earlier novel.

I need to get reading!